The Ten Commandments For Caring For Animals
Lewis Regenstein
Interfaith Council for the Protection of Animals and Nature
2004

1) I am the Lord thy God, Who created all the animals, seeing that each one created was "good" in itself (Genesis 1:21,25), and pronouncing all my Creation when combined and united, "Very Good" (Genesis 1:31). Let my creatures "be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth" (Genesis 1:21-22).

2) Thou shalt have no other gods before Me, such as vanity, greed, pride or anything else encouraging the wearing of fur, ivory, and other products that cause the suffering, killing, and extinction of animals. "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies ? And not one of them is forgotten before God" Luke 12:6, Matthew 10:29).

3) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain, by using the "Dominion" given to you over animals (Genesis 1:26) as an excuse to mistreat them, for dominion means humane stewardship, not exploitation. "For every beast of the forest is mine; and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are mine" (Psalm 50:10-11). "The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works…Thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing" (Psalm 145:9-16).

4) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. "The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it, thou shalt not do any work, nor thy ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle" or any other of thy working animals (Exodus 20:10, 23:12, Deuteronomy 5:13). And the land shall be allowed "to rest and lie still" periodically, and some crops in the fields left for the animals, for "thy cattle, and for the beasts that are in thy land" (Leviticus 25:2-7, Exodus 23).

5) Honor thy father and thy mother, and encourage them to eat a healthy diet, of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains (Genesis 1:29), and not to render unfit their health by defiling their bodies with carcasses full of meat and fat, that the days of all of thee may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Genesis 3:18-19, Exodus 20:12). "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed…and every tree…to you it shall be food…" (Genesis 1: 29). "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox…" (Isaiah 11:6-9).

6) Thou shalt not kill innocent animals, wantonly, by delighting in slaughtering them for sport, recreation, fashion, or other destructive and frivolous uses of God’s Creation. "I will make a covenant with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven…and I will break the bow and the sword…and I will make them to lie down safely" (Hosea 2:18-20). "Thy righteousness is like the great mountains…O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God." (Psalm 36:7-8).

7) Thou shalt not steal from an animal its life, by imprisoning or enslaving it in small cages (zoos) or crates (veal), for entertainment (circuses, hunting preserves), or cruel methods of medical experiments or food production, or any other inhumane use of an animal for the pleasure or profit of humans. "A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" (Proverbs 12:10).

8) Thou shalt not bear false witness against the Creation and encourage its destruction, it is worthy of reverence and respect. Do not portray animals as cruel and bloodthirsty (wolves, bears, tigers), or nature as a nuisance or worthless (wetlands, swamps, forests). "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork" (Psalm 19:2). "Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth…The beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee" (Job 5).

9) Be kind to other creatures, protect their homes, and live in harmony with nature, for humans will be treated the same way they treat animals. As it is written, "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts…As one dieth, so dieth the other…a man hath no preeminence above a beast" (Ecclesiastes 3:19-21). "But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee; or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee…" (Job 12:7-11).

10) The earth and its creatures are not man’s to abuse and destroy: "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1), and you have been commanded to "Replenish the earth," (Genesis 9:1), not to destroy it. "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom Thou hast made them all; the earth is full of thy riches…both small and great beasts" (Psalm 104:2-4).

If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; then I will give you rains in their season, and the land shall yield her produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit…And I will give peace in the land
(Leviticus 26:3-6).